alrighty just got back from the game, and it was actually pretty entertaining and there was a lot to take from it. the nice thing is that none of our players looked bad tonight, and a lot of people stood out.

first of all, daye is just smooth. he's 100% different from last year when he was anxious and forcing things and rushing it as if he had to make a good play every time. he looks comfortable now and has unlimited range - his motion is so consistent on his shots and he was on fire. at the end of the 1st quarter he hit one a few steps over half-court and it looked no different than any of his other shots and was completely effortless. he was playing a lot at the 4 spot near the end and since milwaukee didn't have much bulk it didn't hurt us on the defensive end. he was also rebounding very very well.

gordon looked great on offense and had a nice game minus all of the turnovers, which seems like something the pistons might have to live with.

bynum had some nice drives as usual but he really hurt us at the end of the game. 3 straight times he basically got the ball and stood there and dribbled until he drove at 2-3 guys in the lane and got stuffed or missed. he wouldn't even initiate the offense while monroe was trying to set a pick for him to get some spacing.

to my surprise summers had a very nice game. he played solid defense in overtime and made all of his jumpers. his only issues were driving the lane and getting stuffed. the kid just doesn't have the athleticism or moves to get by a defender or not get stuffed at the rim. he's got a nice jumpshot but whenever he goes to the lane it is forced and ends poorly.

monroe's play was very very encouraging. first of all, the dude is tall. he's listed as 1 inch taller than gooden but looked more like 2-3. he picked up some fouls early and seemed a tad anxious, even missing a wide open two-handed dunk that just hung on the rim and bounced out. but 1 minute later daye got a steal and passed it ahead to monroe on the fast break and he flushed it down for a dunk and played controlled after that. he's got good fundamentals and had some tough rebounds near the end of the game and in OT. he also held his ground on defense and got a key defensive stop and got his hands on a couple balls for some near-steals. and he also won the game for us in regulation...the refs made a horrible call. it was loose on the ground and the bucks dude landed on it and the ref gave him a timeout within about 0.0001 seconds. he never had control, monroe wrestled it away and hit the game-winning basket as time was expiring, but it didn't count.

also he made 2 passes to cutters for layups that made you go 'woah' ... his vision is excellent. on one of the plays he got the ball on the low block and started to back his man down to get his own shot. as he started to turn i thought he was going to shoot it, but next thing you know it's tossed over his back to a cutting gordon for an easy layup. it was sweet.

so overall it was fun times at the palace and a pretty decent crowd for a preseason game. i'm not drinking kool-aid and thinking we're going to be super awesome this year, but the play of daye and monroe was encouraging and they're going to earn a lot of minutes.

Recap. Monroe had a very good 2nd half after kind of a lame 1st half. I was thinking we got a real lemon at 1st then he started to come around. Played pretty solid D, rebounded and passed well. Milw was trying to stretch out the defense and draw him out on the perimeter but on the plays inside he was pretty solid defensively. Just seems to be in the wrong place at times and can appear lethargic. Overall I think he will be ok.

Very very impressed with Daye. Summers played great as well. We may not have the most physical front court but with Daye and Summers we can at least throw some size out there in the other positions. Oh yea - and Ben Gordon is back. CV kind of sucked. thats about it. No Tmac or Rip.

- Greg Monroe is a great passer and he looks like he could be something. He did have a bit of a stinker at times. There was one instance where he created some space for himself and went to dunk it, only for the ball to come flying out of the rim. Groans were had all around. Though he did make up for it and actually made a dunk when he got a second chance. Unfortunately he fouled out at the end. There were a couple of instances where Monroe left his man wide open but hopefully that'll improve.

- Austin Daye. Holy. ****. First quarter, few seconds left, he gets the ball, and like Chauncey's shot against NJ in 04, he shot it and it went in. Every time he got the ball, he'd score. If T-Mac is giving him pointers, look out.

The Bad: The PG position, especially Rodney Stuckey. This is the first time I've ever watched Rodney play live...... I like Stuckey I really do but.......Now on the other hand there's Will Bynum, who seemed to struggle with getting the team into their sets quickly down the stretch as well as his defensive struggles.

The Good: All the othere facets of Rodney Stuckey's game were solid. Penetrated, got to the line and played solid defense. Will Bynum can really break defenses down and kick the ball out, when that ball gets swung to an open Austin Daye or Ben Gordon WATCH OUT!!!!!Jason Maxiel was also pretty good. He's really solidified his below the rim offensive game and he played some terrific team defense. Tayshaun Prince was his usual solid self, decent game for the time he was on the floor.Greg Monroe ended up having a decent game. He has a low motor (don't expect big minutes this season) and his athleticism is simply non existent. Monroe has the explosiveness of a 12 year vet coming off knee surgery but without the veteran savvy and experience to compensate (but he'll get there), Rasheed has more ups than Monroe. He's strictly a below the rim baller who is struggling to find the hoop (but he'll get there). He battles inside but he's not quite strong enough to hold his position yet (but he'll get there). But let me say this, he's got good footwork, he's at least 6'11, he has a nice skill set to build upon and he may very well end his career as the best passing big man to ever play in the NBA, seriously he passes the rock that well.

The Awesome: Ben Gordon was solid on the defensive end and outstanding on the offensive end, when this guy gets that ankle back at 100% WATCH OUT!!! The guy is simply a mile ahead of Rip at this point in his career and the offense doesn't have to be geared towards him for him to get his numbers.Dejuan Summers really had the jumper going and his defense is very solid. Summers can defend the SG, SF and PF, he really showed what he can (and can't) do. He can shoot, he can defend, he has very little athleticism and can't get to nor finish at the hoop, but when you got a jumper like his why would you do anything else.Austin Daye was rediculous!!! He's not quite "there" yet, he still needs to get a little stronger both physically and mentally, but when he does......WATCH OUT!!!! That jumper is pure and smooth like aged Cognac. His biggest problem is that he has no clue how to use his 6'11'' frame on the offensive end, he plays small (and like Monroe and Summers he plays below the rim), probably because he hit a late growth spurt - in his mind he's still only 6'4''. This season he is going to be quite impressive, next season they'll be calling him a future all star. He can play and defend 3 positions and when he learns how to mesh his awesome skill set with his amazing physical attributes........WATCH OUT!!!!

Austin Daye was rediculous!!! He's not quite "there" yet, he still needs to get a little stronger both physically and mentally, but when he does......WATCH OUT!!!! That jumper is pure and smooth like aged Cognac. His biggest problem is that he has no clue how to use his 6'11'' frame on the offensive end, he plays small (and like Monroe and Summers he plays below the rim), probably because he hit a late growth spurt - in his mind he's still only 6'4''. This season he is going to be quite impressive, next season they'll be calling him a future all star. He can play and defend 3 positions and when he learns how to mesh his awesome skill set with his amazing physical attributes........WATCH OUT!!!!

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Stuckey is the same way. Unless he is building a head of steam from outside he can't really use his size advantage either. He still has 0.0 post game.

I know it is only one game, but that Miami game really drove home how one dimensional most of the Piston players are. They may have some skills that compliment one another, but the chances of those all clicking at once are slim and it looks like Q will have to resort to circus ball to get some of these guys time.

Do you still think Monroe can play the 4 up here? I'm starting to think more and more he is too slow to play there. It is still early I suppose.

I never thought that I would be seeing Summers icing the win in an overtime game. The loss of Jonas probably was him realizing his Window is propped open a little longer, nice to see him taking advantage.

Insanely glad to see Q being comfortable enough to run Bynum out against a teams opening lineup. I like to see him starting, I like to see Stuckey doing a little bit off the ball and a little bit of point during the games.

Daye I think is what CV wishes he could be, 6' 11" deadly from range, persistent mismatch. Hopefully CV will realize the roster redundance and go live in the post instead of trying to do what Daye already does better.